Page 79 of The Payback

I level my stare at him, waiting for him to flinch or reprimand me somehow. But he doesn’t move, aside from one drawn-out gulp, in which his throat bobs.

I don’t know why I feel the need to push his buttons, but after so much tension in the house with little relief, all I want to do is push one of them far enough that we speak about something—anything—even if it’s how they make me wet and needy for them.

We push through the hotel doors, heading onto the noisy street and walking towards the bar before he answers my question.

“It makes me feel immeasurably better. Because every time I’ve stroked my cock since Lyon, you’re the face I picture. Your body, your wit, your perfect fucking tits that I want to drink from again...”

I gasp at his blatant confession and the truth ringing in his words.

I hate that he knows. But he doesn’t know everything. He needs to pay for what he’s done, and while I’ve let myself enjoy his body, I need to remember that he hasn’t had his punishment yet.

“I want it all, and even if you can’t give me that now, Ellie, one day you will. I waited ten fucking years to get out of Interpol and start my life. This will be a mere minute compared to that.”

I peer over my shoulder and check that the others are far enough behind us on the street as we walk to the bar. Nik seems to know the way since we’re in the lead. And I realise it’s the first time I’ve been on the streets of New York and not taken in a single sight.

Nik’s voice startles me out of my realisation. “Dimitri may have you now, but I have you too. And either he’ll need to let you go, or he’ll need to learn to share. Because I’m not going anywhere.”

“I am my own. No onehasme, you jerk,” I counter, the words feeling like bitter ash on my tongue.

“You areours. Whether or not you like it. Now,” Nik says as he yanks open the door to the dive bar and peeks inside, “go sit at the corner booth with the girls. The boys and I will get your drinks and keep watch.”

Ana catches up with us then, her arm looping through mine as she leads us towards the booth Nik pointed out. When I cock a brow at her, she just shrugs. “They always make us sit in the corner when they’re with us. It’s the most protected position in this place.”

“Oh. Has Nik been here before?” I ask, wondering how he knows which booth to pick. Then I remember we’re both agents. Or he’s aformeragent, I guess, and this is second nature to him.

“No, not that I know of. Since Nik’s been back, he’s always with Dimitri or off doing negotiations and treaties. However, I can’t complain about the eye candy on this little excursion,” Maria murmurs conspiratorially as she takes my other arm and guides me to the booth. She wiggles her fingers at her guard, and a hint of colour rises on his pale cheeks.

Apparently, I’m not the only one whose bodyguard is looking for more.

CHAPTERTHIRTY

Nikita

I’ve never seenEllie drunk.

Tipsy, sure. Slightly buzzed, absolutely. But drunk? No, strait-laced Ellie would never.

As time passed in the bar, she seemed to sober up, but then, Ana, Valentina, and Maria ordered a few for the road, and now...

“I like your nipples,” Ellie says, dragging her hand across my chest as Igor drives us back to the penthouse. “They’re just perfectly placed.”

She sighs and scrapes her nails across said nipples.

I’m glad she paced herself while they were drinking earlier, but no one could have seen those four shots coming all at once at the end. Maxim, Maria’s bodyguard, just rolled his eyes as if this was a regular occurrence for the women.

A laugh escapes me at her wistful tone, and I realise I’ve had little reason to smile over the past few years. It’s a foreign feeling now.

After Dimitri admitted he thought I’d murdered his father, it felt like I would never smile again. I know we’ve had our differences over the years—growing up together during our formative years will do that. But our big divide stems from an adolescent grudge neither of us got over.

I took the orders he wouldn’t, but when Danil took me in, saving me from a fate I’d rather not contemplate, I had to do it. I owed him too much to say no, and he was right. Dimitri and I had fucked up, and someone needed to make it right. Taking responsibility for my actions had been so ingrained at that point that there was no other option. I needed to right the wrong.

Stupid me for thinking time and distance would heal that wound while I was at Interpol. But when I returned, things only got worse. And I know a lot of that is because of Dimitri’s suspicions I’d killed his father.

Once, Dimitri and I had trusted each other implicitly. We were a team—each other’s ports in the storm. Now we’re like strangers who happen to share a roof, with Ellie.

“I like your nipples, too,” I say, returning my thoughts to the present. My voice is lower than it should be, filled with more than just a simple response. The divider between Igor and us is up because Ellie jammed her finger against the button when she clambered into the car.

And so far, Ellie and I have been keeping our distance—with good reason. While she’s here and undercover, impropriety would only cast doubt on her.

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